November Compact Car Sales: Honda Civic On Top, Chevy Cruze Has Worst Month of Year

Overall sales volumes within the compact car segment dropped last month compared to earlier in the year, and also lead to a shake-up in the order of the class’s top-selling vehicles. November saw the Honda Civic wrestle the number-one spot away from the rival Toyota Corolla. On the American side of the battle, the Chevrolet Cruze once again vastly outpaced sales of the Ford Focus. The segment’s six top sellers are listed below in order of descending sales.

Honda Civic -- 17,133 sold Despite criticism from the media and an admission from executives that it is disappointing, the 2012 Honda Civic managed to earn the top spot in November’s compact-car sales results. The Civic also broke the 200,000-sales milestone last month, posting 200,690 sales for the first 11 months of 2011.

The Civic was Honda’s top-selling car in November, although the company says overall volumes will continue to improve as its factories fully recover from natural disaster-related delays. “We're looking forward to closing the year on a strong note as production recovers,” American Honda vice president of sales John Mendel said in a statement.Toyota Corolla -- 16,115 sold

The Corolla fell behind its longtime rival, the Honda Civic, last month, with sales dropping 4.5 percent year-over-year to just 16,115. Even so, Corolla sales for the year still outpace the Civic, with the Toyota sedan recording 219,250 deliveries through the end of the November. Toyota executives expect that momentum to continue through 2012; “As the automotive retail market continues to improve, we believe we're in an excellent position,” Toyota Motor Sales vice president Bob Carter said in a statement.Chevrolet Cruze -- 13,238 soldThe Chevrolet Cruze dominated the compact segment for much of this year, only to see its sales drop to third place in both October and November. In fact, last month’s sales figure of 13,238 was the worst for the Cruze all year. However, the compact car’s yearly sales tally of 215,057 units outpaces the Honda Civic and is only slightly behind that of the Toyota Corolla. As such, the Cruze also is the second best-selling GM product of 2011 -- trailing only the perennially popular Silverado pickup trucks.Hyundai Elantra -- 12,414 soldAfter two months behind the German entrant, the Hyundai Elantra once again saw its sales figures outpace those of the Volkswagen Jetta. Though it may sit in fourth place within the segment, the Elantra’s 12,414 sales last month represent a 44-percent year-over-year volume increase. That brings the car’s annual sales through November to 173,336 -- up nearly 46 percent compared to the same period in 2010.Hyundai, however, feels it could do better, noting that its relative shortage of new vehicles means that some customers might have struggled to buy a new Elantra last month. “Our 35 days-supply level today is low by most standards,” Hyundai North American CEO John Krafcik said in a statement. “Accent, Elantra and Veloster remain in short supply.”Ford Focus -- 11,735 soldFord saw sales of the Focus slip 9.9 percent year-over-year to just 11,735 units, representing the car’s fourth slowest sales month of 2011. Last month’s figures bring total Focus sales thus far in 2011 to 161,436. Ford, however, remains confident that its array of fuel-efficient cars will continue to draw buyers. “Consumers continue to value fuel economy – no matter what size or kind of vehicle best meets their needs,” Ford sales vice president Ken Czubay said in a statement. “Most Ford products deliver best-in-class fuel economy.”Volkswagen Jetta -- 11,131 soldThough it once again fell to the sixth rung in the compact-car sales battle, the Volkswagen Jetta continues to be a strong seller for the brand. Monthly sales of 11,131 cars equate to a year-over-year gain of 24.3 percent, and through the first 11 months of this year, Jetta sedan sales are up 58.9 percent compared to a year prior. With just 138,092 Jettas sold this year, though, Volkswagen trails far behind the Ford Focus in 2011 sales.November 2011 Monthly Sales1. Honda Civic - 17,1332. Toyota Corolla - 16,1153. Chevrolet Cruze - 13,2384. Hyundai Elantra - 12,4145. Ford Focus - 11,7356. Volkswagen Jetta - 11,131November 2011 Year-to-Date Sales1. Toyota Corolla - 219,2502. Chevrolet Cruze - 215,0573. Honda Civic - 200,6904. Hyundai Elantra - 173,3365. Ford Focus - 161,4366. Volkswagen Jetta - 138,092Source: Toyota, Honda, Chevrolet, Hyundai, Ford, Volkswagen

If you decide on what car you are going to get based on dependability than Iyou obviously dont do that much homework, base your decisions on car commercials too, and dont exactly care about what car you are going to get. You should decide on a car based on how high the the quality is, how quiet the cabin is, handling, performance, craftsmanship, and advanced technological devices.

the issue is going to be that the up and coming models will have to not just equal the old favorites, but BEAT them, and they will have to do it for quite some time to build their brands back up.
look at how honda/toyota came into our market, a quality product with a very low pricetag.... and it took years for them to ditch the "japanese/low quality" thinking that was around at the time
look at how Lexus came out and sold an (arguably) competetive vehicle to the germans for much less money
same thing with hyundai/kia now.
you start out with a bad reputation, and build your brand up

True, but logic dictates that if you've had success buying a particular product, more often than not you're gonna give the next iteration a shot, unless you have a good reason not to. Reliability is extremely attractive to the average buyer. I've not seen many 300+k mile Neons (if any), but high mileage Hondas & Toyotas are ridiculously common.

that is true but history does not dictate the future. I believe you can buy any car and follow the maintenance guidelines and be able to get 150,000 miles before the car is not drivable.
my mom had 2 neons that went 120k miles and I laughed at her when she bought them. (i thought they where ugly) both go into car accidents at the 120k mark in the same month many years later.
by the time her second neon died it was no longer being built and decided to be a one car family.
I don't like brand loyalty. we should buy a product that fits our needs, fits our budget and that we find attractive.

In all fairness to Honda, it's a reputation that was earned. They consistently put out good cars when mediocrity was the order of the day from the domestics. We shouldn't be too mad that they're reaping those benefits now. Hell, I recommended an Accord to the missus when we just met after her Impala left her stranded for the umpteenth time (2000 model... notorious for ignition immobilizer/electrical issues) and she's not had any trouble with three Accords since. Things like that tend to leave a lasting impression on buyers.

Toyota and Honda are clearly selling on their past reputations, not better product! Nothing against the Corolla and Civic cause once upon a time they couldnt be touched, but now there are several better alternatives!

Well tie me to a hog & roll me down a hill... I never would've guessed that the Civic would be on top. Not in a million years. I don't think it's a terrible car, but considering the competition, color me surprised. Honda buyers do tend to buy another though... and in my experience Hondas are very reliable (I've owned several... last one was an S2K). Still, I wouldn't buy the new Civic. Honda still has some way to go before I would consider another one.

and what happened to the super hot Ford Focus??? Looks like - as I predicted - the Focus is too expensive for what it offers besides I'm pretty sure transmission and MyTouch woes scared away a lot of customers.

As expected...as soon as Toyota and Honda recovered from the earthquake problems they shot right back into the top....and all those Chevy fans were betting the Cruze was going to be the best selling compact in this country LOL

well done toyota and honda. there where a lot of people waiting for inventory that where able to buy them in november. I am surprised that saying chevy sold 13000 plus cruzes is a bad thing. This car replaced the cobalt that wasn't even on this list last year.
its good to see all of the manufactures building quality cars and selling them. Nothing wrong with that.